Browsing by Author "Mulder, N."
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Item Hackathons as a means of accelerating scientific discoveries and knowledge transfer(Genome Research, 2018-04) Ghouila, A.; Siwo, G.H.; Entfellner, J.B.D.; Panji, S.; Button-Simons, K.A.; Davis, S.Z.; Fadlelmola, F.M.; Ferdig, M.T.; Mulder, N.; Bensellak, T.; Ghansah, A.et.al.Scientific research plays a key role in the advancement of human knowledge and pursuit of solutions to important societal challenges. Typically, research occurs within specific institutions where data are generated and subsequently analyzed. Although collaborative science bringing together multiple institutions is now common, in such collaborations the analytical processing of the data is often performed by individual researchers within the team, with only limited internal oversight and critical analysis of the workflow prior to publication. Here, we show how hackathons can be a means of enhancing collaborative science by enabling peer review before results of analyses are published by cross-validating the design of studies or underlying data sets and by driving reproducibility of scientific analyses. Traditionally, in data analysis processes, data generators and bioinformaticians are divided and do not collaborate on analyzing the data. Hackathons are a good strategy to build bridges over the traditional divide and are potentially a great agile extension to the more structured collaborations between multiple investigators and institutions.Item Polygenic risk scores for CARDINAL study(nature, 2022) Adebamowo, C.A.; Adeyemo, A.; Ashaye, A.; Akpa, O.M.; Chikowore, T.; Choudhury, A.; Fakim, Y.J.; Fatumo, S.; Hanchard, N.; Hauser, M.; Mitchell, B.; Mulder, N.; Ofori-Acquah, S.F.; Owolabi, M.; Ramsay, M.; Tayo, B.; VasanthKumar, A.B.; Zhang, Y.; Adebamowo, S.N.Item Sickle cell disease: tipping the balance of genomic research to catalyse discoveries in Africa(The Lancet, 2017) Makani, J.; Ofori-Acquah, S.F.; Tluway, F.; Mulder, N.; Wonkam, A.Item SickleInAfrica(Global Haematology, 2020-02) Ofori-Acquah, S.; Makani, J.; Sangeda, R.Z.; Nnodu, O.; Nembaware, V.; Osei-Akoto, A.; Paintsil, V.; Balandya, E.; Kent, J.; Luzzatto, L.; Olopade, O.I.; Pallangyo, K.; Minja, I.K.; Jonas, M.; Mazandu, J.K.; Mulder, N.; Ohene-Frempong, K.; Wonkam, A.Over the past 20 years, organised efforts in Africa have described and addressed the burden of sickle cell disease, with commendable achievements. However, there have been four limiting factors. First, there have been few multisite, well described cohort studies of sickle cell disease in Africa. Second, there is no evidence yet that consistent standards of care are applied across Africa. Third, there are insufficient human resources, both in numbers and skills. Finally, there are few programmes exploring pertinent research questions related to sickle cell disease in Africa to guide locally appropriate interventions. This situation is compounded by inadequate collaboration within Africa that would otherwise allow sharing of experience and reduce duplication of efforts. SickleInAfrica is a consortium set up to address these factors by shaping health policy in countries that bear the greatest burden of sickle cell disease worldwide. The countries selected are characterised by high sickle cell disease prevalence, mortality and morbidity, and suboptimal use of interventions that could reduce mortality in children younger than 5 years. The time for this initiative is optimal, as there has been considerable progress in developing genomic research in Africa, specifically in sickle cell disease. These advances will not only improve our understanding of genetic diversity in Africa, but will also clarify how a monogenic disease can have such heterogeneous manifestations. It is imperative that Africa contributes to genomics research to improve health and introduce curative treatments of sickle cell disease.Item Ten simple rules for organizing a webinar series(PLoS computational biology, 2019-04) Fadlelmola, F.M.; Panji, S.; Ahmed, A.E.; Ghouila, A.; Akurugu, W.A.; Domelevo Entfellner, J.B.; Souiai, O.; Mulder, N.; H3ABioNet Research working group as members of the H3Africa ConsortiumIntroduction Technological advancements are rapidly changing the face of science in terms of data acquisition, its transfer, storage, analysis, interpretation and dissemination of results [1]. In biology and genomics, this is affecting many traditionally considered purely wet lab experiments like genome sequencing [2], medical diagnosis [3], and drug design [4]. It therefore becomes essential for bioinformaticians to remain up to date with recent trends and innovations in the field. Within Africa, this is even more true as the continent is striving to foster the development of innovative tools and strategies to improve health outcomes on the continent. H3ABioNet [5], the pan-African Bioinformatics Network, was established with the aim of capacity building in mind to further advance genomics research in Africa. It is therefore complementary to its other training initiatives [6] to ensure African scientists have access to avenues to disseminate their research, discuss their work, and network with peers. Seminars and conferences are good opportunities for sharing and discussing new insights and networking with peers and can be considered as scientific meetings [7–13]. However, with prohibitive traveling costs and increased logistics, it is not always feasible to organize and attend numerous regular seminars. In an increasingly interconnected world brought about by technological advancements in communications, other alternatives can be used to supplement the in-person experience. Examples within Africa include: the H3ABioNet offering of a hybrid-delivery 3-months course, Introduction to Bioinformatics [18]. The Global Women in Data Science (WiDS) conference is another example of a one-day technical conference that is live-streamed from various locations across the globe (http://www.widsconference.org/). Mozilla Open Leaders (https://mozilla.github.io/leadership-training/), and global sprints (https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/opportunity/global-sprint/) are other examples of active engagement and community building that are arranged and conducted remotely. Through organizing regular online seminars, known as webinars, H3ABioNet is aiming to empower a predominantly African audience to reap the benefits of being kept abreast of current research trends by expert domain scientists.